Sour Grapes For Rafa Benitez Over Gareth Barry Transfer

Not content with the way things are playing out during the summer transfer window, Rafa Benitez has lashed out at Gareth Barry in the same manner that a young child lashes out at a somebody who steals their favorite toy.

In the eyes of Benitez, Manchester City has become the neighborhood bully by stealing the shiny red tricycle that he was lusting after.

Benitez has come forward and accused Gareth Barry of having impure motives for wanting to move to City. He said that the move was "100 percent for money" and said that Barry would have been better off signing with Liverpool for the promise of perennial Champions League football.

How quickly Mr. Benitez has forgotten how Steven Gerrard nearly left Liverpool for a bloated contract with Chelsea.

Rafa shouldn't be so quick to judge Barry's intentions. City's ownership group has deep pockets and with their hefty bids for world-class talents like Kaka and Samuel Eto'o, they have announced that they wish to become serious contenders for silverware sooner rather than later.

I'm guessing that the allure fo being in on the ground floor of City's future success played a big role in Barry's decision. Or perhaps the fact that Liverpool can't seem to get over the hump and win the Premiership kept him away from Anfield.

Even if the transfer was all about the money, why should it matter to Benitez? There isn't a whole lot of loyalty in the modern game anyway. To paraphrase the great Dwight Schrute, perhaps loyalty does mean a lot to Barry, and he's merely going with the club that's going to better compensate him for his loyalty.

At the same time as he was chastising Barry, Benitez decided to take a pre-emptive swipe at a couple of midfielders that are actually on the books at Anfield.

There have been rumors swirling about the potential exits of Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano. Apparently Benitez feels that the two players owe Liverpool a debt of gratitude, to be repaid in loyalty.

"Don't forget we signed Alonso from Real Sociedad when nobody knew about him and we renewed his contract two years ago, so he was happy then, and you know what happened with Mascherano at West Ham before we brought him here. Both players owe a lot to Liverpool. They owe Liverpool some loyalty and they both know that."

I wonder if Atletico Madrid had similar feelings when the player that they had developed through their youth ranks, Fernando Torres, left for Liverpool. Benitez' rantings come off as more than a little hypocritical.

Players leave their clubs all the time in the modern game. Most will leave in an effort to better their situation, to find trophies and glory. It's ridiculous for Benitez to criticize his own players for wanting to leave in search of glory when Liverpool has snared so many players with the same mindset.

That's the way the game works today. Players leave, and you have to move on.